Missile Co-Production Could Save $11 Million.

• Author: Bell, John E.

Defense Department gives Lockheed Martin waiver to consolidate manufacturing

An agreement to co-produce two different types of anti-tank missiles for the Army and the Marine Corps at a single manufacturing plant promises to save the contractor and the U.S. government about $11 million.

The co-production of these two munitions, the Army's Javelin and the Marine Corps' Predator missiles, is expected to open the door for similar cost-saving manufacturing initiatives in the defense industry.

In contrast to previous missile-assembly operations, the production of the Predator will take place on the same manufacturing line as the Army's Javelin anti-armor missile. Defense Department safety regulations have prohibited such operations in the past in order to prevent the loss of two product lines in the event of an accident. However, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has obtained approval to allow the co-production of the two missiles in the Javelin manufacturing plant in Troy, Ala.

Currently, the Troy plant manufactures the Hellfire, Longbow, Javelin and AGM-142 missiles in three primary manufacturing facilities located on its 3,200 acre site. The plant started its manufacturing operations with the Hellfire missile in 1994 and has produced more than 8,500 Patriot missiles for the Army.

In addition to the upcoming production of Predator, the Troy plant is preparing to manufacture the joint air-to-surface standoff missile (JASSM) and the theater high-altitude area defense (THAAD) missile.

Much of the success of the Troy plant can be traced to its multi-skilled workforce that is organized into manufacturing teams. These teams use cell manufacturing and a continuous-flow process to achieve high levels of quality and efficiency in their products, including a yield rate of about 98 percent for new missiles.

New processes at the Troy plant are implemented in part through Lockheed Martin's involvement in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) affordable multi-missile manufacturing (AM3) program. AM3 encourages the use of technology and advanced manufacturing processes in the production of missiles. Lockheed Martin's AM3 initiatives include the development of flexible tooling and the use of virtual manufacturing software that allows managers to develop and analyze different manufacturing layouts for their production facilities.

It was through the use of virtual manufacturing that Lockheed Martin was able to develop a plan to...